Caprifoliaceae are perennial and mostly woody plants that
include vines, shrubs, and small trees. The family contains
about a dozen genera and perhaps 400 species, of wide distribution,
chiefly in the North temperate zone, or of mountainous areas
in the tropics.
The flowers have a 4- or 5-lobed calyx, which is usually small,
and a 4- or 5-lobed corolla which often forms a substantial
tube. The lobes may be equal, or formed into two lips with
4 lobes for the upper lip, and 1 large lobe for the lower
lip. The 4 or 5 stamens attach to the tube, alternating with
the lobes, with the fruiting portion of the pistil below where
the calyx and corolla lobes originate. The fruit, usually
a fleshy berry, has 2 to 5 seed-forming divisions. The leaves are opposite and broad and being either entire
or having several lobes or leaflets. The leaves sometimes
join together to form a disc around the stem (as in the honeysuckles).